nano oil!you thoughts please

blanex1

blanex1

Joined
Feb 11, 2015
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i have heard some good things about nano oil on other forums,but put off buying it because i mostly use ether 3 in 1 and WD-40 and sometimes tri flow lubrication for all my knifes for years now!but always looking for the new & improved things in life,any one try the nano-oil! i would love to hear your thoughts,will it really smooth out the action on knifes!or do other lubes work just as well.
 
Never used nano oil, but I have used this
DuPont MS1020101 GPL102 Krytox Oil, 36cST Viscosity, 20 Degree C, 1 oz. Dropper Bottle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WE0DDX0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BBCVxbS5EGV68

It's spendy... At 30+bucks an ounce... But damn... It's smooth. I've gone through almost a whole ounce lubing things around the house... My keyboard, knives, hinges. With this stuff, a dab will REALLY do ya. A little goes a long way

They have multiple viscosites. The one I linked to is really thin, but I have never ran into any issues.

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I have the 10W and 85W Nano. Like the stuff a lot - no smelly, harmful petroleum distillates like 3-In-1 or WD-40 (which isn't strictly a lubricant, anyway). Needle applicator is perfect for knife lube and small spots. Definitely recommended.
 
nhyrum said:
Never used nano oil, but I have used this
DuPont MS1020101 GPL102 Krytox Oil, 36cST Viscosity, 20 Degree C, 1 oz. Dropper Bottle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WE0DDX0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BBCVxbS5EGV68

It's spendy... At 30+bucks an ounce... But damn... It's smooth. I've gone through almost a whole ounce lubing things around the house... My keyboard, knives, hinges. With this stuff, a dab will REALLY do ya. A little goes a long way

They have multiple viscosites. The one I linked to is much thinner than even water, whose viscosity is 100 cST at 20 C.

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I can't comment on the DuPont oil you're recommending, but water has a cSt of about 1.

We use a couple of grades of pure silicone oil, from 10cSt to 50cSt. Even the 50 is pretty thin, the 10 migrates everywhere and is light enough to evaporate almost completely over time. It feels a lot thinner than comparable water based liquids as oils have much less surface tension.

From what I understand the nano oil is mineral oil with additives to thin it out. It does get good reviews from most, not sure what its being compared directly to.

I like hydraulic oil for a firearm/small mechanical lube, use mineral oil for most other stuff, chain saw bar oil if I need it to stick around.
 
HeavyHanded said:
I can't comment on the DuPont oil you're recommending, but water has a cSt of about 1.
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Derp read the table wrong.

Still, 30 something cST is pretty thin for an oil, but I love it.

It is DuPont, and has ridiculous temperature ranges(which is what I bought it for, applications around 220 C, no where near the top of its range) so it will be pricey, but it's great, that's all I have got to say. The 1xx series are oils, while the 2xx's are greases.

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I really like it. I have used it for a few years. It seems to lubricate a long time and feels like it makes a difference over 3-in-1 to me . I have the 10w. My little bottle has lasted a few years now.
 
I find that after a few months it doesn't matter much what oil you use. The knife will collect pocket lint and other debris that will need to be cleaned out and oil reapplied.

For this reason I find WD-40 to do fine. Every few months when I clean my knives with soap and water I finish by flushing with WD-40. I find further cleaning and oiling to be kinda pointless at that point.

I still have and will occasionally use Benchmade Blue lube but again, I see no discernible difference from one to the other.
 
Awesome stuff :thumbup:

I use Nano Oil 10W exclusively on my knives. It seems to work great on knives with bearings, too. Expensive, yes, but in my opinion, totally worth it!
 
thanks guys,some grate input to think about,after all who would no better that knife owner's.:)
 
With oil, 'less is more.' 99% of us apply waaay too much oil when we lubricate, mistakenly thinking that if a little is good, more is better. It's not. With oil, it actually creates "stiction," a state of high friction that needs to be overcome before movement begins. With something like a knife pivot, where the blade is at rest before opening, it actually takes MORE energy to begin the opening sequence in the presence of extra oil.

Imagine, if you will, two flat metal disks about 6" in diameter... Take ONE SMALL DROP of oil and spread it over the disk's surface, gently wipe off any extra, and place one against the other. They will move together smoothly and evenly. Now squirt some oil onto the disk the way we 'usually' do, and press them together again. When you start to move them, you can actually feel (what you imagine to be suction) delaying the start of movement. THAT is stiction! And THAT slows down your knife pivot.

This is where lubricants such as WD-40 (and yes, it IS a lubricant. It's comprised of ordinary mineral oil and Stoddard Solvent to thin it for penetration and water displacement) fail for knife lube jobs. It's not that the WD-40 won't do the job perfectly... It's that we spray on waaay too much of the stuff. We can't help it when we use WD-40's own delivery system. Instead, try squirting some into a small cup, then with an eye dropper, apply just one drop of it to a clean knife's pivot. You will be amazed at how well that blade deploys now!

Clean your pivot with WD-40? Sure it works. Stoddard Solvent will clean out old oil and grease. But then the other 95% of the mix, the mineral oil will slosh all over the place. If you want to clean the pivot without all the oil, use a good quality electrical contact cleaner to spray JUST solvent into the pivot and flush it out under pressure. Then add one drop of any oil. One drop. Work it in for a few minutes. JUSt ONE DROP. I know... It's hard to hold back.... Just one drop.... :)
 
I've tried a bunch of different knife pivot lubricants including Nano Oil 10w and 85w, Froglube, Finish Line Ceramic Grease, Finish Line Extreme Fluoro, Benchmade Blue Lube, mineral oil and others.

As far as oils go, I'd say that Nano Oil 85w has been the best of the bunch because it has a high enough viscosity not to run or evaporate too easily. Still, on balance I prefer Finish Line Extreme Fluoro fluorinated grease as, used sparingly, it provides a very high level of lubrication in a dry enough manner not to attract much dirt or lint in pocket.

Both of those lubricants require knife disassembly to apply correctly, incidentally. If you are trying to apply a lubricant without disassembling the knife I would stick to Benchmade Blue Lube or 10w Nano Oil as they are light enough to be worked into the pivot without disassembly .
 
I had to try the nano oil just to see. Yes, it works a little better than any of my other lubes which include reel butter, frog lube and tuff glide. And I was a critic of the stuff before I tried it. Not magical or anything, just seems slightly more slippery, pivots and such. Flipping feels more noticeably effortless. Would I suggest buying some? Sure.
 
stitchawl said:
With oil, 'less is more.' 99% of us apply waaay too much oil when we lubricate, mistakenly thinking that if a little is good, more is better. It's not. With oil, it actually creates "stiction," a state of high friction that needs to be overcome before movement begins. With something like a knife pivot, where the blade is at rest before opening, it actually takes MORE energy to begin the opening sequence in the presence of extra oil.

Imagine, if you will, two flat metal disks about 6" in diameter... Take ONE SMALL DROP of oil and spread it over the disk's surface, gently wipe off any extra, and place one against the other. They will move together smoothly and evenly. Now squirt some oil onto the disk the way we 'usually' do, and press them together again. When you start to move them, you can actually feel (what you imagine to be suction) delaying the start of movement. THAT is stiction! And THAT slows down your knife pivot.

This is where lubricants such as WD-40 (and yes, it IS a lubricant. It's comprised of ordinary mineral oil and Stoddard Solvent to thin it for penetration and water displacement) fail for knife lube jobs. It's not that the WD-40 won't do the job perfectly... It's that we spray on waaay too much of the stuff. We can't help it when we use WD-40's own delivery system. Instead, try squirting some into a small cup, then with an eye dropper, apply just one drop of it to a clean knife's pivot. You will be amazed at how well that blade deploys now!

Clean your pivot with WD-40? Sure it works. Stoddard Solvent will clean out old oil and grease. But then the other 95% of the mix, the mineral oil will slosh all over the place. If you want to clean the pivot without all the oil, use a good quality electrical contact cleaner to spray JUST solvent into the pivot and flush it out under pressure. Then add one drop of any oil. One drop. Work it in for a few minutes. JUSt ONE DROP. I know... It's hard to hold back.... Just one drop.... :)
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Thank you for the education! Less is more, it would seem:)
 
Best lubricating oil i've discovered so far, not only for knives but also for many other applications.
Since early 2012 i even use it in our car (2005 Toyota Corolla 1.6), as an additive in both engine & transmission oil.
Fuel consumption changed from 1 liter petrol in +/- 12,5 km to 1 liter petrol in +/- 15 km.
 
stitchawl said:
With oil, 'less is more.' 99% of us apply waaay too much oil when we lubricate, mistakenly thinking that if a little is good, more is better. It's not.
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I'm definitely with Stitch on this less-is-more thing. I'm also pretty firmly in the NanoOil camp having applied it to almost every knife I own. I have the 5W, 10W, and 85W and have used the first two, but not the 85 so far. It takes very little to effect significant lubrication and both the 5 and 10 seem to penetrate very well into the pivot of an assembled knife. Just one drop carefully placed at each side where the washer is most exposed seems to do the trick. Using just a small amount I don't find any migration out of the pivot area and I haven't noticed any excessive build-up of lint or other gunk since I've been using Nano. In a disassembled knife, it's easy to apply just a tiny amount and distribute it on the bearings and pivot bushing.

I started a thread in the CRK forum asking if anyone there had tried alternate lubes in their Reeve knives. I mentioned that those of mine often seemed sluggish and I had struggled at lubing with both CRK and FinishLine fluoro grease. I replaced the grease in my new large 25 with W10 Nano with excellent results. Cody added a most informative post that fluoro grease is actually meant to dry out and will therefore resist attracting pocket crud, etc. He and others also pointed out that grittiness or drag in a knife's travel is most often the result of build-up in the detente-ball track and a cleaning of the assembled knife with warm, soapy water is the answer in such a case.

A couple posters over there mentioned using NanoOil to good effect, and at least one was going to try the W85 and see what results that might bear. In fairness, my lack of success with CRK or FL grease may be due to my ham-handed inability to accurately apply only a small amount.

Edit: One area where I have had good results with fluoro grease is in the detente ball track. Just a tiny spot of it on the ball can really reduce drag and help make the operation super smooth.
 
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I don't use oil as a rule, slipjoints being the exception. I give others a shot of WD-40 or Breakfree very occasionally followed by compressed air.
 
JB in SC said:
I don't use oil as a rule, slipjoints being the exception. I give others a shot of WD-40 or Breakfree very occasionally followed by compressed air.
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WD-40 is oil. Plain 'ol mineral oil... with a shot of Stoddard Solvent (mineral spirits) thrown in to thin it down.


Stitchawl
 
i got the nano oil in 10w-15cc size in my mailbox two days ago,seems like my knifes with bronze washers work really well with this stuff,vary slippery easy open/close,now how long they stay that way will see in time!one other thing to add,i own lots of flippers with bearings,and wouldn't use the nano oil 10w on any of them or your going to be taking your knife apart all the time!dirt is going to collect in your bearing system vary fast,outside of that i would say nano-oil is outstanding for most other knifes.:thumbup:
 
Nano oil has proven to be a great lubricant. Only very small amounts needed. Low debris build-up and it lasts a long time.
 
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